There are many traditions that surround the Fourth of July each year in the United States. Possibly one of the more unusual of those is the annual Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.
If you can’t make it to Coney Island in New York City to watch the event in person, ESPN has you covered. According to the network, the contest will air live on Sunday, July 4. Two of the network’s channels will have coverage of the 2021 contest.
First up will be the women’s competition. It will begin at 11:30 a.m. ET on ESPN3. To watch the men’s competition you will have to flip over to ESPN at noon ET.
There will be more to the broadcasts than just the contest itself. Joining in will be Mike Golic Jr., a popular sports commentator for ESPN. Golic will be offer play-by-play of the 2021 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. This is the second time doing so.
Two men who know a lot about competitive eating will also be part of the broadcast. One of them is Richard Shea of Major League Eating. He will offer “in-depth analysis.” Also, Major League Eating Chairman George Shea will be in charge of the events on stage.
Another person who knows what it’s like to compete in the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest will also share her thoughts about the competition. That woman is Miki Sudo. She won the women’s competition seven times. EPSN reporter Jason Fitz will also be on air.
Returning Champion Joey Chestnut Will Be Focus of Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest Coverage
Unsurprisingly, competitor Joey Chestnut will be featured heavily in the broadcast. He will be going for his 14th Nathan’s Famous championship in 15 years.
He will also be competing to break his world record. That record now stands at 75 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. To make sure fans don’t miss a bite of Chestnut’s bid for a new world record, a camera filming only him will broadcast on ESPN3.
Should you miss the live action of the 2021 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest you will have other chances to watch the event on television.
According to Nathan’s Famous, the annual contest has its roots in a competition that took place on July 4, 1916. It was then that four immigrants competed to see who could eat the most hot dogs. The first recorded of these contests took place in 1972
ESPN plans to air the event additional times. The first of these will also take place on Sunday, July 4. This “encore presentation” of the contest will be shown on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. ET. Also on July 4, the contest will air on ESPNews at 6 p.m. ET.
Two more opportunities to watch the 2021 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest will take place on Monday, July 5. The event will air at 11 a.m. ET and 5 p.m. ET on ESPNews.
